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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28580880">It Was Back In Ninth Grade</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/jongkey_krisho/pseuds/jongkey_krisho'>jongkey_krisho</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SEVENTEEN (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Flashbacks, Happy Ending, High School, I repeat HAPPY ENDING, M/M, Other Heavy Topics Undisclosed, Other triggering content, Romance, Smut, TW// Mentions of past suicide attempt, TW// Mentions of self harm, Underage sex (between high school students), explicit content, friendships, past history, reconnecting</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 05:27:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,927</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28580880</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/jongkey_krisho/pseuds/jongkey_krisho</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s been almost a year now that Junhui, Minghao, and Vernon have been friends; one might even call them best friends at this point. The fact that it’s junior year, where they have even more freedom than usual, makes everything even better for them to be able to hang out and have fun while having a little more time to worry about college later. </p><p>However, when Minghao starts befriending Seungkwan from his psychology class and inviting them with the group, things get weird fast. Vernon and Seungkwan seem to have an awkward relationship with each other, almost as if they knew each other before. And bit by bit, Junhui and Minghao figure out that before they came along, Seungkwan had been Vernon’s friend… and perhaps a bit more, only for it to have somehow come crashing down. What happened back then, and will it happen again?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Boo Seungkwan/Chwe Hansol | Vernon, Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Minghao is really, and I mean </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span>, surprised that Junhui and Vernon are healthy teenagers considering how they spend all their time eating junk food. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>School had started over two weeks ago, now heading onto their third week, and seeing the two eat their third bag of family size cheetos this week. And again, this week is just barely starting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Week doesn’t even sound like a real word anymore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jun,” Minghao said, ready to scold his friends while they were eating. “Vernon. What is </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong </span>
  </em>
  <span>with you two?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Junhui took another handful out of the bag of cheetos, stuffing them in his mouth. He still took another fifteen seconds to chew and swallow before responding to Minghao, knowing it was pretty disgusting to speak with your mouth full. “Everything is wrong with me,” he said. “I’m a failure and unlovable.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon, who was about to put another cheeto in his mouth, paused, giving Junhui a questionable look. “Jun, you know that’s not true,” he said. “Minghao just wants us to eat lettuce again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>promoting lettuce,” Minghao said, sitting next to Junhui on the porch steps. They were outside Vernon’s house on the porch, having just come back after school. “I am promoting </span>
  <em>
    <span>longevity.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sounds boring,” Vernon said, shrugging. “Who wants to live forever if you’re going to be miserable-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Junhui said, pointing at Vernon. “Are a big hypocrite. You literally could have just said yolo.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minghao frowned. “What’s yolo?” he asked Junhui in Chinese, refusing to show Vernon how stupid he was. Vernon knew all types of Korean </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>English slang, while Minghao himself still got his pronunciation wrong often. Junhui was </span>
  <em>
    <span>way </span>
  </em>
  <span>better than him at English, but Junhui struggled every once in a while, too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yolo means you only live once,” Junhui explained in Mandarin. “You say it after doing or saying something risky.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minghao nodded in understanding. “Technically, cats can’t say yolo,” he said back in Korean. “They have more than one life.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If a cat is on it’s last life, then they can,” Junhui said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon shook his head. What could they have </span>
  <em>
    <span>possibly </span>
  </em>
  <span>said in Mandarin that led to this? “They still already lived eight lives before, though,” he pointed out to them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Junhui shoved his hand into the cheetos bag, only to take it back out empty-handed. “Oh, no,” he said, shaking the bag upside down where all the remaining cheeto dust and crumbs fell on the grass. “We’re out of cheetos.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank god, your cholesterol levels are going to give me a heart attack,” Minghao said. “If you’re going to eat that much salt at least drink a lot of water as well.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Speaking of water, that reminded Vernon that he still had some water in his backpack. “Don’t worry, buddy Minghao, I came prepared,” Vernon said, grabbing his backpack behind him and unzipping it, pulling out one of those fancy water bottles he always drunk. “Then I’ll have more cheetos-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No!</span>
  </em>
  <span> I am worried about your health, guys!” Minghao said, though he was being ignored. “At least go to the doctor and make sure you’re not about to go to cardiac arrest.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Junhui shook his head, reaching out his hand to take a sip of Vernon’s water bottle. “I get a heart attack everytime I see you~” he told Minghao in a lovey voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minghao squinted his eyes at Junhui. No, Xu Minghao, this was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>a love confession from the boy you liked. “You’re going to get a stroke, too,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Okay, how about this - if you don’t buy shit for the rest of the week, I’ll buy all the junk food you guys want on Saturday.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Junhui immediately smiled, pumping his hands in the air. “Yay, free candy!” he exclaimed, always excited for free rice crackers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Vernon’s face turned into panic. “Minghao, you don’t have to buy stuff for us,” he started rambling, standing up from the porch steps. “I’m serious-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Boy, I’m not going to buy you </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly </span>
  </em>
  <span>everything,” Minghao said. “You can’t blow my bank account either, I’m not stupid anyways.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, Minghao, you said we have to save money to purchase the PS5 together,” Junhui reminded him. “What house are we keeping it at, though, we haven’t decided yet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minghao shrugged. “Your house, you never get grounded, knowing my mom, she’ll try to throw it away in two days.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s because I’m a good child,” Junhui said proudly, standing up as he placed his hand over his heart. “I’ve never done anything bad in my life.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon frowned. “You sneak out of your room every week-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not being </span>
  <em>
    <span>bad,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Junhui said. “I don’t deserve this slander from you guys, I’m biking to the store-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my fucking- you know what, die from heart disease for all I care, leave my alone crying on your grave,” Minghao said, turning around to yell at the street. “All you guys do is eat, no wonder your favorite subject at school is lunch.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually, it’s AP Chemistry but thank you for your input,” Junhui said, pulling Vernon’s arm. “Come on, dude, let’s go and get some chocolate.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon, who appeared to be in a daze, snapped out of it when Junhui started tugging on his sleeve while Minghao continued to shout at him. “Hmm, what? Oh, yeah, the store, chocolate, yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>At lunch, there was the so-called Boo Seungkwan, the one that his friends had described to him, who was wearing… brand clothes he supposed, if his friends were right, sitting alone at a small table next to the wall, eating a PB and J.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Vernon was really scared to walk up to him; he did not like talking to strangers and never found the appeal of introducing himself. He was just a lonely freshman here, after all; he didn’t have much power. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan was a freshman, if he remembered, just like him. Maybe it would explain why he was sitting alone; school has only started two weeks ago, now heading onto their third week, and if you didn’t already have friends from middle school joining you, like Vernon, then it was obvious you were going to be alone for some time. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But Seungkwan wasn’t a new student. His friends said that they have known of Seungkwan’s existence since the third grade, where in music class in elementary he would stand all the way at the back even though he was short. Also, they were pretty sure they never heard him play the recorder. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Vernon didn’t know much about this Seungkwan anyways, but it wouldn’t hurt to try, right?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to walk to the table where Seungkwan was, eating his sandwich in peace. He had less than three seconds to back out on whether or not this was a good idea-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Three seconds were up. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan was looking at him, probably having seen him out of the corner of his eye, and was now staring at Vernon, wondering who the latter was. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ah, shit. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uh, hey,” Vernon said. “Do you… do you mind if I sit here with you?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan stared at him, blinking his eyes while all Vernon could do was just stand there uncomfortably, oh god, this was a bad idea, this was a mistake-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Um… if you want?” Seungkwan said. “Do- do I know you?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Vernon sat two seats away from Seungkwan, not wanting the other to believe he was interrupting his personal space. “No, you probably don’t,” Vernon said truthfully. “But I’m a freshman here, so-”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan nodded. “Yeah, me too,” he mumbled. “I don’t know anyone here.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>They sat there in silence for a bit until Vernon forced himself to speak up again. “Are you new to the district?” Vernon asked, wondering if his friends were right. “Moving is really tough, especially for starting high school.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan shook his head. “No, I’ve always been in this district,” he said, staring at his peanut butter jelly sandwich. “I just don’t know anyone, but I can’t imagine moving, either.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Vernon understood. He has moved so many times in his life from all the times his parents lost their apartments, but thankfully since the fifth grade they’ve been a bit more stable. He doesn’t know many people here, either, especially since he just started high school, but he can’t imagine moving all over again, not when he’s getting accustomed to stuff. He finally memorized his locker combination the other day, and that had been a huge feat. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>After that, Seungkwan didn’t say anything else, taking a bite of his sandwich slowly, staring at the table. He didn’t have much in front of him, Vernon noticed; a simple insulated lunch bag, the plastic wrap where the sandwich must have been in, an apple, a water bottle of some brand he didn’t recognize, and a Twix bar. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He stared at his meal of rice and kimchi and picked up his chopsticks, having a small amount of rice. “Moving does suck a lot,” he said, “but I feel like once you find your place, it gets better over time.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan looked at him, wide-eyed. “I- I sure hope I find it,” he muttered to himself, looking down at his sandwich again. “I hope so.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan continued eating his sandwich, taking small bites of his sandwich, and Vernon stared at his own food, wondering if this was a good idea after all. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Put in a lot of potato chips, too,” Junhui said, pushing the metal cart forward as if he were a four-year-old child. “Chips, chips, </span>
  <em>
    <span>chips!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You will be missed,” Minghao said, shaking his head. “When you no doubt have cardiac arrest.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minghao, can you just let loose for a bit?” Junhui scolded him, setting down a family-size bag of wavy chips in the half-full metal cart. “We are teenagers, let us </span>
  <em>
    <span>live</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon didn’t say anything to the two, setting down some of the fancy water bottles that he always got. Both Junhui and Minghao could never remember the name, but Vernon often drank it instead of soda. “You guys argue like a married couple.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minghao’s face turned red. “Don’t- don’t say that,” he said, while Junhui beside him laughed. “You too, Junhui! Shut it!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Haha, Vernon admitted that you argue too much!” Junhui said, pointing to Minghao as he continued to laugh. “You can’t get away with it this time!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ignoring the annoying Chinese boy next to him, Minghao grabbed three jumbo Cheeto Puff bags and half-threw them on the cart, angry at how easily he gave in to peer pressure. “Hansol Vernon Chwe, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>will </span>
  </em>
  <span>whoop your ass one of these days,” he scolded him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon shrugged, used to empty threats by now, whether they stemmed from love or hate. “Go for it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As soon as Vernon said it, Junhui exploded into laughter again, his face red as he swiped a tear away from his cheek. “He- he said </span>
  <em>
    <span>go for it</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that point, Minghao started rambling something to Junhui in Chinese, which Vernon didn’t understand, so he looked around again, trying to see if there was something else that he wanted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can we go to the candy aisle now?” Vernon asked them. “I think that’s it here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go for it,” Minghao retorted back to him, obviously mad at how Vernon was beating him today with all his remarks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon shrugged, used to Minghao’s reactions by now, so he stepped away from his friends and stepped out the aisle, heading straight to where the candy was, knowing Junhui will surely follow him soon; you couldn’t pry Starburst out of Junhui’s hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His eyes roamed around the shelves, trying to find the familiar golden wrapper. Sure, it wasn’t his most </span>
  <em>
    <span>favorite </span>
  </em>
  <span>candy; he was more of a Snickers guy, yeah he was basic, etc, but for some reason, he always found himself picking the Twix more often than the snickers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At last, where all the usual chocolates were, Vernon saw the Twix bars, right next to the Snickers bars no less. Without thinking, he took a handful of the bars, around five or so, and headed straight back towards where his friends were. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>True to his word, before Vernon even stepped out of the aisle, there was Junhui frantically pushing the metal cart again, chanting Starburst over and over like a mantra, while Minghao dashed behind him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“STOP EATING SO MUCH SUGAR!” Minghao yelled at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Junhui, despite not having eaten all day and yet was still hyper, shook his head. “I NEED MY STARBURST!” he exclaimed, almost stopping himself from ramming into the stocked candy shelves. “YOU CAN PRY THEM OUT OF MY DEAD HANDS!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“YOU’LL BE DEAD SOON IF YOU KEEP EATING THAT MUCH-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll be deaf too if you guys keep screaming like that,” Vernon said, setting the candy bars down in the cart, maneuvering the potato chips so that they don’t get squished. “Also, Jun, they have the tropical ones-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“HELL YEAH!” The argument with Minghao soon forgotten, Junhui let go of the cart and dashed through the candy aisle, his eyes dashing everywhere as he searched for his favorite sweet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t encourage his behavior,” Minghao hushed to Vernon, making sure Junhui couldn’t hear them. “You know it’s unhealthy, and it doesn’t help that he really wants to try out for the soccer team.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon shrugged. Sure, Junhui ate a lot of junk food, but he didn’t seem out of shape; plus, everytime Junhui went to the doctor, he never had anything negative in his file. “I guess,” he said. “I know how worried you get about him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minghao gave Vernon a warning glare, reminding him that Junhui was nearby. “And you too,” Minghao added. “I’m worried about you, too, but at this point I don’t know if it’s part of your warped personality-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t have a warped personality,” Vernon interrupted him, but before he could calm down Minghao’s nerves, Junhui came rushing back, Starbursts in his hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We are </span>
  <em>
    <span>good </span>
  </em>
  <span>for another week!” Junhui exclaimed, and Minghao couldn’t help but slap his own face in despair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The so-called week started okay, in Vernon’s opinion. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He woke up Monday with a migraine, unfortunately, but that seemed to be the only negative; he popped in some medicine in his mouth and it faded away, thankfully, leaving him to get ready for school in peace. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His mother made him some pancakes with strawberries, which he ate with delight in a hurry so that he could meet his two friends early before school, as they always promised to meet up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As usual, he arrived at their meeting and was the last one to show up; no matter how early he showed, Minghao and Junhui were always there before him, and at one point, Vernon just let them; he knew about their crush on each other and thought they deserved alone time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They chatted (more like bickered) before rushing to their homeroom before the tardy bell, and Vernon headed towards his classes alone; he didn’t share any with them this semester, but hopefully next semester would be different. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The good thing, though, was that they all had the same lunch period, so when that started, Vernon headed towards their same table as last semester; this time, he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>always </span>
  </em>
  <span>the first one to show up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He set his tray down, taking his backpack off to set it on the seat next to him so that he could sit down comfortably, looking around to see when Junhui and Minghao were going to show up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had grabbed a simple meal of rice and kimchi again, not really in the mood to eat; he had one of his Twix bars in his backpack, ready to eat it when he got a craving. He had already eaten two of them during the weekend, so he was going to have to go to the store soon to get more. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nice lunch you got there.” Vernon looked up to see Junhui sit across from him, setting his own tray down; Junhui had gotten some type of soup, though from the distance Vernon couldn’t see what it was. “They had pork belly, you should have grabbed some.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon shrugged, picking up his chopsticks. “I’m not really that hungry,” he said. Then, thinking about Minghao’s words, he added “plus, we eat too much junk food anyway.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh god, you’re thinking about Minghao’s words again, aren’t you?” Junhui said, sighing. “He hates my ass.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Junhui, if he hated you, he wouldn’t care about your health,” Vernon stated, still looking around the cafeteria. “By the way, where </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>he?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Junhui frowned. “Dude, do you not remember what he said about his psychology class yesterday?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon scratched the back of his neck. “No, not really.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jesus, child- anyways, he said they have a project starting today and he was getting assigned to a partner to work with,” Junhui reminded him. “He has psychology before lunch, so he’s probably inviting his partner to eat with us.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon nodded, understanding. In his classes, Minghao usually never got partners unless he absolutely had to, always preferring to work alone; it’s what happens when you get paired with people who never do their share of the work.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not even a few seconds later, though, Junhui lit up, pointing to someone behind Vernon. “Yo, there’s Minghao and his partner, I’m guessing, yo, Hao!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon looked up to Junhui as he took another bite of his rice when he saw Minghao come and sit next to Junhui, and the student next to him- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Holy fucking shit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, remember about my psych project?” Minghao said, setting his tray next to Junhui, meaning that- oh no, no, no, don’t have him sitting next to him, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span>- “This is Seungkwan, he’s a sophomore and we’re going to be working on it together, Seungkwan, this is Junhui-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jesus fucking christ, Vernon didn’t know if he could run away or not, he felt like throwing up, no, no, no, Minghao, </span>
  <em>
    <span>why-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungkwan raised a hand as if to wave at Junhui, but brought it down last second, fuck, how Vernon </span>
  <em>
    <span>hated </span>
  </em>
  <span>that he knew it was a habit of his-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And this,” Minghao said, pointing at Vernon; he had had his hoodie up and was eating when the two came towards the table, so if Seungkwan didn’t see him before, he saw him now. “Is Vernon, he’s also lame.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At the mention of Vernon, he could see how Seungkwan’s eyes widened when he made eye contact with him, and Vernon could swear he was about to start choking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He could feel his own heart rate increasing at a rapid pace; if only it could be pumped hard enough to make him have a heart attack and be whisked away from here. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gosh, fucking Minghao, </span>
  <em>
    <span>why?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon dropped his chopsticks, his hands twitching uncontrollably, as he noticed how Seungkwan himself appeared to be breathing heavily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You guys are weird, but eh,” Minghao sat down in his seat, already stealing Junhui’s juice box out of habit, as if all this were normal. “Haha, let’s start lunch, I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>starving</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hello! it's jongkey_krisho, i hope you guys will enjoy this story. <br/>i hope you guys have fully read the tags and understand a lot will happen in this book, and always remember you are never alone.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>“Why do you have a Twix sometimes?” Vernon asked Seungkwan during lunch, curious. “Why not everyday?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It had become a regular thing for the two of them to occupy the same table during lunch, far away from the other students in the cafeteria, but Vernon liked the peace and quiet, and no doubt Seungkwan did too. Plus, it was nice hanging out, just the two of them. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan rolled his eyes, grinning as he unwrapped the candy, looking down at the table. “I just like them,” he said. “But I know too much sugar does bad stuff to your body, which is why I only eat them on Mondays and Wednesdays,” he explained, ripping the bars into two. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span> It was always the last thing he would eat, Vernon noticed. First, he would unwrap the plastic wrap where the PB and J sandwich would be preserved. Then, Seungkwan would bite his apple slowly, eating it evenly and thoroughly. He always took sips of his water bottle as necessary, a brand that Vernon couldn’t recognize.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And, finally, on Mondays and Wednesdays, Seungkwan would eat his Twix bar last, splitting it into two before eating it. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Vernon noticed that Seungkwan dragged on his lunch long enough to last until the bell rang, signaling lunch period was over. He didn’t really eat much to begin with, and it’s certainly not a meal that you would expect a rich kid to eat. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Speaking of which, every day, Seungkwan also had some brand name clothes, though you couldn’t always tell; they never had the brand name on display, unlike some clothes that Vernon always saw on the internet. They did give off the expensive vibe, though, and they certainly looked to be of long lasting material. He dressed a bit preppy, in Vernon’s opinion, but that was another thing of Seungkwan; he was always tidy and clean. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan took another bite of the first half of his Twix bar, chewing when he saw Vernon’s face, prompting him to swallow. “Is something wrong?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hm? Oh, no, just thinking,” Vernon stammered quickly, glancing at his empty tray to avoid Seungkwan’s eyes; he finished his lunch a while ago, so he couldn’t busy himself with anything. “Twix is okay, I guess, but I didn’t take it to be your favorite candy.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Why not?” Seungkwan asked. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uh, I mean, it’s like a common candy,” Vernon explained. “So when people say favorite candy, I would think they would say something you love but can’t get often.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan nodded, understanding. “Is that the case with you?” he asked quietly. “What’s your favorite candy?"</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Okay, now you’re going to think I’m a hypocrite,” Vernon said. “But I like Snickers. I guess I haven’t really had the time or money to explore other candy options like those expensive truffles or shit- oh.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>While Vernon had been speaking, Seungkwan had finished the first bar of the Twix, and he offered Vernon the second one to eat himself. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan pulled it back, shrugging. “What?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I- you don’t have to share your candy with me,” Vernon said, denying the offering. “Dude, I’m good.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Are you sure?” Seungkwan asked him. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Vernon stared at the chocolate in the other’s manicured hand. He was more of a Snickers guy, but chocolate was chocolate, after all. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He took it from Seungkwan slowly, eyeing him the whole time. “Now you’re making me feel bad.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“It’s fine,” Seungkwan said. “Plus, it’s Monday. I’m having another Twix bar on Wednesday, anyways. You don’t have to worry.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan cleaned his fingers with the napkin that he had on the table, then opened his insulated lunch bag and pulled out a hand sanitizer, a tiny bottle that was watermelon scented, Vernon had noticed a while ago. He cleaned his hands as Vernon ate the chocolate. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Do you like high school?” Vernon asked him, interrupting his cleaning process. “I know we’re both freshman and just started, but… it’s a bit different, to be honest.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He could instantly smell the watermelon of the sanitizer as Seungkwan rubbed it softly on his hands. “It’s school,” Seungkwan said. “I like the classes, but I guess I’m just scared of them being hard, especially since college is supposed to be a lot harder, and I have to go.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Vernon shrugged. “Well, I guess you technically don’t have to,” he mentioned. “Sure, this country might label you as a failure, but I mean, your life isn’t over.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan, with his hands now cleaned, put the hand sanitizer back in his lunch bag, wrapping the plastic wrap around the apple core and Twix wrapper into a ball. “I know, but college is really important to my family,” he explained. “Which is why I study. I’m just glad they’re letting me study what I want, since I know their friends don’t think the same way of their children.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“That doesn’t sound depressing at all,” Vernon muttered, looking at the digital clock on the wall right near them. They had two minutes until lunch ended. “What do you want to study, anyways?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I think maybe biochemistry!” Seungkwan exclaimed, visibly excited. “I’m taking biology right now and I really like it, I just can’t wait until we get to learning stuff like macromolecules and the different body systems and such, I’ve always wanted to learn that.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Ah, shit, I don’t like my biology class,” Vernon said, groaning at the thought of biology “You got to help me with my homework, Kwan, I can feel the class getting harder by the second.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan beamed. “Sure!” he exclaimed again. “I don’t mind helping, I really like that class.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>***</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yo, do you like psychology class with Minghao over here?” Junhui asked Seungkwan. “He’s been kind of excited about it, but that’s because he’s Minghao.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What does me having an identity have to do with how interesting a subject is?” Minghao yelled at Junhui beside him, smacking him once the latter started laughing. “Jun!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungkwan didn’t look at either of them, staring at the PB and J sandwich in front of him. He had only taken two bites of it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To Vernon’s surprise, Seungkwan looked… well, not to be mean, but… </span>
  <em>
    <span>different</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He always looked nice when going to school, </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Vernon would have never imagined him in a million years wearing grey, baggy sweatpants and a white long-sleeve pajama shirt to school. They were probably still from expensive brands, though they didn’t have any logo present as usual. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had eyebags under his eyes, and it didn’t look like this was a new thing with Seungkwan. What astonished Vernon the most, though, was his </span>
  <em>
    <span>hair</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Seungkwan looked like he hadn’t run a comb over it in </span>
  <em>
    <span>years</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And, also, quick question, why didn’t Seungkwan have a Twix bar with the rest of his food? It was Monday, wasn’t it?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you think Vernon over here is being rude, he’s not, he’s just naturally quiet,” Minghao said, trying to ease Seungkwan. “He doesn’t talk much. Vernon, say something about yourself to Seungkwan, don’t scare him, he’s a sophomore.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wait, wait, wait, did Minghao just say </span>
  <em>
    <span>sophomore</span>
  </em>
  <span>?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally </span>
  </em>
  <span>impossible. Both Vernon and Seungkwan were freshman at the same time, taking the usual first level courses like biology and whatnot. And now, Vernon was in his third year as a junior; he hadn’t skipped a grade or anything, he was right on track. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why was Seungkwan a sophomore? Did he miss a year of high school or something? But why? Did his parents have a getaway trip or some shit? I mean, they </span>
  <em>
    <span>certainly </span>
  </em>
  <span>had the money to afford it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon never took his parents to be the type to pull their son out of school for something so trivial; they had been really intent on Seungkwan getting a good education and going to college. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yo, dude, say something, idiot,” Junhui said, bringing Vernon back to his senses. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh…” he shrugged. “Like they said, I’m a junior.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungkwan bit his lip, looking at the clock on the wall nearby. “Figured,” he mumbled softly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, we’re all juniors, we’ve been in this high school for quite a while,” Minghao told him. “And forgive Vernon over there being boring-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not being boring,” Vernon interrupted him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“-but hopefully your second year of high school goes well,” Minghao concluded, ignoring Vernon. “How was last year? Was it any good?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungkwan picked up his sandwich, his bitten nails digging into the bread. “Ninth grade was good,” he said at last, bringing the sandwich up to take a bite. “And I was stupid.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mood,” Junhui said, laughing. “Though I’ve been stupid every year.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not something you should be proud of, idiot,” Minghao scolded him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon stared at the rice on his lunch tray, not wanting to join the conversation anymore. Clearly Seungkwan was uncomfortable with him being there, as he had every right to be. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungkwan hadn’t been stupid; he had trusted Vernon with his entire heart. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Vernon </span>
  </em>
  <span>was the one who had been stupid, paying attention to his friends. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The fact that Vernon’s feelings were genuine the entire time and never left did not help.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to talk?” Minghao told Vernon after school. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Usually, the three of them would be heading their way to someone’s house (or their own if their parents were going to threaten them), but today was the soccer tryouts which Junhui </span>
  <em>
    <span>desperately </span>
  </em>
  <span>wanted to be a part of, and since they were good friends, Minghao and Vernon had to be there for moral support. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon turned his head to look at Minghao, frowning. “Talk about what?” he said. “Your feelings for Junhui?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut the fuck up,” Minghao sneered at him, crossing his arms over his knees; he had them brought up to his chest, feet resting on the bleacher in front of them, as he stared at the bottom row, where Junhui sat with the other trainees. “Not when he’s around, idiot, and that’s not even what I wanted to talk about, anyways.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Damn, okay then.” Vernon looked away, staring at Junhui again, who was chatting excitedly with the other prospective soccer players. “Go ahead.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minghao glanced at Vernon, who was still looking at where Junhui was at. “I just wanted to ask if everything is okay,” he said finally. “It’s just… I don’t know, you gave off the vibe of being rude to Seungkwan earlier today-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I- you thought I was being </span>
  <em>
    <span>rude</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Vernon asked him in disbelief. “You- you </span>
  <em>
    <span>got </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be kidding me, Minghao-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, that’s what it looked like in my opinion,” Minghao defended himself. “You were so awkward to him, I thought you would be more open. I know you don’t like talking to new people, but-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look, Minghao, I didn’t even remember that you were bringing someone to the table,” Vernon continued. “And to be honest, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>feel a bit out of my comfort zone. It’s nothing against Seungkwan, believe me, it’s just, well, I’m just used to you guys being my only two friends. There’s never been a third.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minghao sighed, resting his head on his hands. “Sorry for making that assumption, I guess,” he said quietly. “I thought you just made him uncomfortable since he told me that he thought it wasn’t a good idea for him to sit with us during lunch-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he had been talking, he didn’t realized that halfway, Vernon widened his eyes, almost snapping his neck to stare at Minghao, who continued talking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“-and I feel kind of bad because it doesn’t look like he has any friends,” Minghao added. “I don’t think he has anyone in this school and now that we gave off the unfriendly vibe with him-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>think it’s because you were unfriendly, Minghao,” Vernon calmed him down. “Look, he… he’s probably just self-conscious or something, I don’t know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minghao nodded, standing up straighter to look at his friend beside him. “You think? I was thinking he could sit with us during lunch, Junhui said he didn’t mind, but you know Junhui, anyways.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I- would that be a good idea?” Vernon asked him, trying not to raise his voice at Minghao. “I don’t know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I- why wouldn’t it be a good idea?” Minghao asked, tilting his head. “You don’t like him or something?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh, that was definitely </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>the case with Vernon, but it wasn’t like he could tell Minghao the full story anyways. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I just think we shouldn’t force him,” Vernon said after a few seconds of silence, hoping Minghao was doubting him. “You can ease him into hanging out with you or something, I don’t know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minghao crossed his arms over his chest. He could see how the soccer trainees were now being told to stand up as the coach performed roll calls. “If you don’t want to hang out with him for whatever reason, you can just say so, Vernon-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not why,” Vernon interrupted him. “Look, he’s a nice guy, I get that-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nice guy? You wouldn’t even look at him during lunch, how do you know if he’s even nice or not?” Minghao yelled at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minghao, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>I’m not good at talking to new people,” Vernon reminded him. “I’m sorry if I’m coming off as rude, I don’t mean to.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minghao remained in silence, taking his feet off the bleachers. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I know I shouldn’t force you with anything-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I- I’m sorry, I’m being a douche aren’t I,” Vernon rambled. “Minghao, just invite him to lunch, it shouldn’t be </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>bad, right? The last thing we should do is make him feel like shit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minghao, unfortunately, did invite Seungkwan over for lunch the next day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Junhui clearly had no problem with the newcomer, as he was now giving Seungkwan a big rundown on how Minghao is always on their case regarding eating healthy while Minghao tried to defend himself and his opinions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“-And he has the </span>
  <em>
    <span>audacity </span>
  </em>
  <span>to make fun of my starburst,” Junhui continued, pointing his plastic fork at Minghao, who was glaring at him. “Minghao is a complete idiot and the world should no.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t think I won’t beat your ass in front of him,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minghao told Junhui in Chinese before looking at Seungkwan. “This punk exaggerates, you should see how much sugar he eats everyday.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungkwan nodded, not saying a word as he continued to eat his sandwich. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>eat that much sugar,” Junhui lied again. “And besides, Vernon here eats much more than me, right Vernon? Tell Seungkwan here how much you eat.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon looked up, not bothering to put down his hoodie. “I don’t eat that much sugar,” Vernon lied as well, forcing himself not to make eye contact with Seungkwan. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That is the funniest thing you’ve said all day,” Minghao said. Then, to Seungkwan, he said, “Every fucking time we go to the store, Vernon always buys himself a shit ton of Twix, and it’s painful to watch-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At the mention of Twix, Seungkwan looked at Vernon, his eyes widened. “Twix?” he whispered quietly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, Twix,” Junhui repeated, throwing a grain of rice at Vernon. “Yo, tell Seungkwan with your weird ass obsession with that candy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Only if you tell him about your stupid starburst,” Vernon said, looking back down at his food again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungkwan knew that Vernon’s favorite candy was Snickers, but thankfully, he didn’t bring it up, leading Minghao and Junhui to believe yet another one of Vernon’s lies. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Vernon found himself at the pizza diner after school, but instead of his usual group of friends, it was with Seungkwan instead. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan, true to his word, was to help Vernon with his biology homework. The two had the same class, although different periods, so thankfully they were learning the topics at around the same time. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Well, learning being the key word. Vernon had no idea what he was supposed to be doing. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Might just fuck around and order myself another pepperoni pizza,” Vernon said, looking at the menu they have been given. “I’m not really in the mood for something unique.”</span>
  </em>
  <em></em>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan opened the tattered plastic menus softly, as to not damage them any further. “I don’t remember the last time I had pizza,” he said truthfully. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’re- you’re kidding me, right?!” Vernon asked him in disbelief. “Boo Seungkwan, you don’t have pizza often?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I mean, it’s just really greasy,” Seungkwan explained, hiding his hands underneath the table. “And my parents don’t really have us eating western food at home, so, I guess that’s why I don’t have it often, I’m sorry-”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey, you don’t have to ramble you know,” Vernon interrupted him. “It’s just me. Plus, it’s just a joke, you know, when someone doesn’t do something you like. You don’t know how many times I’ve eaten pizza this month.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan nodded, though his face was still red from embarrassment. “That doesn’t sound healthy,” he whispered. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Vernon shrugged. “Probably not, but it’s not like my family can afford it anyways.” He pointed at the menu on the table. “I think I’ll add jalapenos to it just for fun.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wait, why can’t your family afford it?” Seungkwan asked. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Dude, it’s called being broke,” Vernon explained. “Plus, you know, we’re high school students, we’re gonna be extra broke. Until college, that is. Hey, you said you wanted to go to college, right?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan nodded, pulling down the sleeves of his shirt to cover more of his arms before laying them on the table. “Yeah, I hope I can go to university,” he agreed. “I want to study biomedical sciences, probably biochemistry, although research in the genetics field would be good, too.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Is it bad that I have no idea what genetics is?” Vernon said, laughing.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Vernonie! Genetics is what makes you </span>
  </em>
  <span>you</span>
  <em>
    <span>!” Seungkwan exclaimed as Vernon continued to laugh. “Please tell me this was another joke of yours.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Kwan, you know I’m just messing with you, right?” Vernon reminded him. “You’re so easy to play around with, Seungkwan, come on, I’m not </span>
  </em>
  <span>that </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well, I just worry,” Seungkwan mumbled, crossing his arms, causing Vernon to burst into another fit of laughter again. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A waiter eventually came to take their order, to which Vernon order his pepperoni pizza with jalapenos, while Seungkwan ordered a simple cheese pizza, not wanting to eat too many calories. Their orders were going to take a while, though, so the two thought it would be a good idea to start with their biology homework. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You know, I take back my earlier statement,” Vernon said, carelessly throwing his pencil on the table as he groaned, leaning his head back against the booth. “I think I </span>
  </em>
  <span>am </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Vernon, you’re not stupid,” Seungkwan said, pausing the notes that he was writing to look at Vernon. “Come on, you’re really smart. It’s just a new concept, of course we don’t have to know this right now.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“No, I’m pretty stupid,” Vernon said. “I’m going to make stupid, regrettable decisions in my life eventually, I just know it.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan rolled his eyes, grinning. “You exaggerate too much,” he said. “I doubt that would ever happen.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>“I was thinking if you wanted to hang out later today,” Vernon told Seungkwan during lunch again. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Just Monday, two days ago, Vernon and Seungkwan had gone to the pizza diner, where Seungkwan was able to help Vernon with his biology homework, which he gleefully turned it in today, feeling more confident in his answers. It was his first time hanging out with the latter after school, and needless to say, Vernon had enjoyed it. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan, who had taken another bite of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, looked at him, chewing with a confused look on his look. He swallowed before responding, not liking to talk with his mouth full. “Really?” he asked, surprised. “Where do you want to hang out?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Vernon shrugged. “Anywhere, really,” he said truthfully. “I don’t really mind.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan stared at his sandwich in his hands. “I have piano lessons after school,” he said quietly. “From four to five.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“That’s okay, we can hang out later,” Vernon suggested. “Or another day if you want-”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“NO!” Seungkwan shouted, his face immediately turning red at the outburst. “Ah, I mean, it can be later, if you want. I… I get to pick my own dinner time at home, so I don’t have any other appointments afterwards.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Vernon raised an eye. “Uh, what do you mean pick a dinner time?” he asked, confused. “You don’t eat dinner with your parents?"</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan shook his head. “They’re busy with their work,” he admitted. “So I just usually make something myself or ask Minju.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“So you eat dinner alone?” Vernon asked. “Dude, for how long?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Since I can remember,” Seungkwan said, taking another bite of his sandwich.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That sounded… </span>
  </em>
  <span>really </span>
  <em>
    <span>depressing in Vernon’s opinion. Who wouldn’t have the time to eat dinner with their child? His parents both had two jobs each and yet they still found time to be with Vernon at the end of the day. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Although, if what his friends were saying were true, then it would make sense for wealthy parents not to have time for their son, though it didn’t make it any less sad. From what Vernon has figured out from his conversations with Seungkwan, the latter didn’t have any other friends and was always alone in school; the dude was sitting alone at the cafeteria for Christ’s sake. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You can have dinner at my house,” Vernon offered. His mother had told him in the morning that she was going to make yukgaejang, spicy shredded beef stew, which Vernon had been looking forward to. “There’s like a park nearby, we can shoot hoops or walk or stuff.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hoops?” Seungkwan asked. “Like- like basketball?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uh… yeah,” Vernon said. “I’m not saying I’m a prodigy but, eh, maybe I want to flex.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan stared at the table, smiling. “Okay, you can flex,” he said, taking another bite of his sandwich.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>***</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We should invite Seungkwan over after school,” Minghao said to the group the morning before school. They were outside of the main building, as always, Junhui shoving a stale croissant in his mouth. “I have to work on my project with him, anyways.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon thought Minghao was pushing it, but he knew that if this would have been </span>
  <em>
    <span>any </span>
  </em>
  <span>other person, there would have been no problem. “If you want, I guess.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Junhui swallowed his croissant, wiping the crumbs off his face. “Yeah, how about we </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>study and we just play on my Xbox? I’m telling you, once we get that Playstation 5 I don’t think I’ll be touching that thing again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m warning you, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>will </span>
  </em>
  <span>break into your house to play it,” Minghao said. “By the way, I already saved up my half, when you’re ready to buy it, let me know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hold on, you saved WHAT?!” Junhui yelled at him. “BRO, I barely have one hundred dollars!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As his two friends started arguing with each other, Vernon pulled up his photos app, scrolling all the way to the top to earlier photos when he saw one that was familiar. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was one of their first few hangouts with him and Seungkwan, back during their freshman year. They had taken a walk outside of Vernon’s house and Seungkwan had been so excited to see a frog on the grass near a tiny pond, and he somehow managed to carry the thing in his hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungkwan was really happy in the picture, staring at the frog with such awe in his hands. Vernon remembers how Seungkwan had called him over, asking him to quickly see the frog, and it was the first picture Vernon had ever taken of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon looked at the picture, thinking what had happened that day. They played hoops, they walked, they ate dinner at his house. Vernon had shown him his room, which Seungkwan had been really excited to see. His mother also liked Seungkwan, had always appreciated him, and when Vernon and Seungkwan broke up at the end of freshman year, she kept asking where he was to the point that Vernon snapped at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He knew it wasn’t her fault and apologized </span>
  <em>
    <span>many </span>
  </em>
  <span>times over it, but Vernon still felt like an asshole about it. About a lot of things, in fact. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon turned off his phone quickly, not wanting his friends to see the picture. He had never told them about Seungkwan and didn’t plan on it. Kind of had a feeling they would stop being friends with him if they knew the truth, especially Minghao. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dude, why do you look like you’re going to cry or something?” Junhui said, bring Vernon back to reality. “What did you see on your phone?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmmh? Nothing, nothing,” Vernon said quickly, shoving his phone back in his pocket as he headed towards the main doors. “We should probably head to class, guys, we don’t want to be late.”</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At lunch, Minghao told Seungkwan if he wanted to hang out with him after school. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Throughout the day, Vernon remembered that Seungkwan would usually have piano lessons after school today, which he always had Wednesdays and Fridays, unless the private teacher would be sick or something. Seungkwan had been going to piano lessons since he was five and never missed a lesson. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So, imagine his surprise when Seungkwan said he was free all day today. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Great!” Minghao said. “Cool, I’ll text my dad-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, really?” Vernon asked, interrupting Minghao. “You don’t have anything?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minghao gave Vernon a glare that said </span>
  <em>
    <span>stop being rude</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but Vernon’s curiosity was getting the best of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungkwan widened his eyes. Vernon rarely talked to him during the past two days Seungkwan had been sitting with them. “N-no,” he repeated. “I… I don’t have any appointments.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon frowned. “Not even, like… clubs, or sports or like… piano lessons?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bro, do you stalk him or something, that’s oddly specific,” Junhui pointed out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungkwan shook his head, looking down at his hands as he picked at his cuticles. “I don’t take piano lessons or anything of the sort.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then, he mouthed </span>
  <em>
    <span>anymore</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Seungkwan, guess what, I’m trying out for the soccer team!” Junhui exclaimed excitedly. “We don’t find out on Friday, though, I’m really anxious.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You need to eat </span>
  <em>
    <span>healthy</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Junhui!” Minghao yelled at him. “Look at you, you already have your third bag of cheetos opened!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Junhui, who was about to grab another hand of cheetos, pouted. “You never let me succeed in life,” he mumbled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon, still shocked at Seungkwan not taking piano lessons, stayed quiet for the rest of lunch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Later in the day during passing period, he saw Seungkwan in the hallway, keeping to the far left as he hugged his textbooks to his chest, walking slowly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon thought about how all of last year, he would never be able to find Seungkwan at school, and just assumed that it was because it was big and Seungkwan was probably trying to avoid him. Now, though, remembering how Seungkwan is a sophomore and probably missed a year of school, it would explain his absence. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Seungkwan was in the hallway now, heading to class, and Vernon kept thinking about the piano lesson comment from lunch, and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>wanted to know what happened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He jogged up to Seungkwan, thankful that there wasn’t that many people he could bump into. “Kwan.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>Seungkwan looked up, and Vernon could instantly see how Seungkwan’s eyes turned big</span> <span>and full of… fear? Sadness? What was it?</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, uh, hey,” Seungkwan said, immediately looking down, and Vernon realized that he had used the old nickname and instantly regretted it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um… yeah, hey,” Vernon said as well, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “How… how have you been?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungkwan took a quick glance at Vernon before looking down at his textbooks in his hands. “Could be worse,” he said finally. “By other people’s standards.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon had no idea what Seungkwan meant by that, but they weren’t boyfriends anymore, it wasn’t Vernon’s place to ask, so he let it slide. “Cool, cool,” he said like an idiot. “I just- I just had a question from lunch.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mhm,” Seungkwan hummed, hugging his textbooks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He took a deep breath. “When did- when did you stop taking piano lessons?” he asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungkwan looked at Vernon, opening his mouth to speak but closing it again. He didn’t answer until he looked away again. “Freshman year in April.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Freshman year- wait, </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Vernon asked, but Seungkwan was already walking away, so Vernon grabbed his arm out of reflex, pulling him back. “Hey-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ow!” Seungkwan yelped, instantly dropping his books and closing his eyes as he tried to pull away, startling Vernon enough to let go. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that,” Vernon stammered, watching Seungkwan rubbed his arm, trying to massage it. He had long sleeves again, so Vernon didn’t know if he had a bruise from bumping into his furniture - Seungkwan had a habit of doing that. “I- why’d you quit?” he asked, bending down to pick the books that Seungkwan dropped.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungkwan got down, trying to pick the books himself, refusing to look at Vernon. “I lost interest,” he whispered,” standing up and walking away. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>have to go to class, Hansol.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He left Vernon standing there alone, leaving him with more questions than answers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They broke up in May. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan held onto his bag, clutching on it with a deadly grip as his chauffeur drove to Vernon’s neighborhood. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It was one of his favorite bags, the Neo Alma BB Louis Vuitton bag. It was made out of monogram empreinte leather and it was a cream color, and it was to be used as a cross-body bag. He had bought it last year when he went to the shop nearby and thought it was cute, and it’s been one of his favorites ever since. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>After his piano lessons, he had packed it with some of his water bottles that his mother regularly ordered to be delivered to the house. He also put his wallet in there, along with some gum and his cell phone, one of the newest iPhones, also a white color. He didn’t know what else to put in there, so he raided one of the healthy cabinets in the kitchen and found some protein bars with a thousand ingredients and stuffed it in there last minute. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan had been stuck on what to wear, though. He really wanted to meet Vernon soon, so it’s not like he could go to the mall and buy something new just for the occasion; Seungkwan rarely socialized unless it was a gala or premiere event that his parents often took him to.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He finally decided on a light pink Givenchy sweater and white capris. One of his father’s business partner’s had sent them a whole range of Nikes, and Seungkwan settled on some plain white ones, thinking his outfit matched neatly. He liked dressing up, though it was often for school, so he was always excited for being able to dress up for something else. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He hoped Vernon liked his outfit.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Are you sure this is the right place?” the chauffeur, Taeha, said to Seungkwan, glancing around. He was driving slowly, since a lot of people were on the road, including a group of middle-schoolers playing soccer on the street.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Eh?” Seungkwan said. “Oh, yeah, this is where Vernon told me to go. Why, what’s wrong with it?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Sir, I’m pretty sure I just saw two drug deals going on,” Taeha pointed out. “I don’t feel safe leaving you in this neighborhood.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan got tense at the word drugs, but he really wanted to see Vernon, so he tried to stay calm. “I’m fine,” he insisted. “We’ll be at the park and his house, we won’t get hurt.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Taeha eyed at him through the rearview mirror. He was to always listen to Seungkwan’s orders, so he couldn’t change his mind. “I’ll stay parked somewhere hidden, send me a message if you’re in trouble.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes,” Seungkwan said, resuming to look out the window. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>At last, his chauffeur found the park, where Seungkwan could see a lot of kids, elementary students, playing around on the playground. There were two basketball courts, one with a game going on between some teens, and he also noticed groups of older high school students lingering around, smoking and drinking bottles of something. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan turned on his phone again, staring at the last message Vernon had told him. He said he would be near the swing set waiting for him. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He turned off his phone and shoved it in his bag, opening the door. “Bye, Taeha, thanks for bringing me here.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“At your service,” Taeha said, watching Seungkwan get out of the car. “Be careful.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan shut the door and looked around, looking for the swing set. There were three sets of swings, one that was broken, and there were two kids on the other ones, having fun. Leaning on one of the poles at the end was someone wearing all black, with a cap backwards, t-shirt, basketball shorts and tennis shoes, his arms crossed. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan fixed some loose strands of his hair last minute, tucking them behind his ear before he walked slowly to the swing set, taking his phone out of his bag again to send Vernon a text that read </span>
  </em>
  <span>I am here.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>As soon as he sent it, he looked up to see the swings again, where he could see Vernon grab his phone from his pocket, reading it quickly before looking around, finally making eye contact with Seungkwan. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan raised his hand as if to wave at him, bringing it down last second, feeling self-conscious. He chose to clutch his bag again, tucking his phone in his front pocket of his capris. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Vernon looked around before running up to where Seungkwan was, grabbing his arm. “You </span>
  </em>
  <span>seriously </span>
  <em>
    <span>chose to wear that?” he whispered to Seungkwan, grabbing his arm to drag him away. “You can’t be serious.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Instantly, Seungkwan’s face fell. “I- I thought it was cu-cool,” he stammered out, his voice cracking. “I’m sorry-”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What? No Seungkwan, the outfit’s cool, that’s not-” Vernon looked at Seungkwan who appeared to be on the verge of tears. “Seungkwan, hey.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He stopped them both, grabbing onto Seungkwan’s shoulder. “Kwan, the outfit looks gorgeous on you, I swear,” Vernon said. “I- I didn’t mean to be rude about it, that’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>honestly </span>
  <em>
    <span>not what I meant.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan grabbed his sleeve and wiped his face, not wanting to cry in front of Vernon. “Really?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uh- yeah,” Vernon said. He had no idea why he said the word gorgeous, but decided not to think about it. “Look, Seungkwan, I know your parents are rich, okay?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wait, rich?” Seungkwan asked, confused. “What do you mean?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Vernon ran his hands through his hair. “Seungkwan, these are brand name clothes,” he pointed out. “And I’m not saying it’s bad to wear them, but in this neighborhood, someone will honestly try to rob you if they knew you were wealthy.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan thought of his chauffeur earlier, stating that this neighborhood was bad. “You think someone’s going to rob me?” he asked quietly.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Fuck no, I’ll beat their ass,” Vernon said, grabbing his hand. “Speaking of which, let me beat you in basketball.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>---</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Vernon did end up beating Seungkwan in basketball by a large margin, true to his words. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>They were both sitting down on a bench afterwards, drinking the water that Seungkwan brought. Vernon had found them extremely refreshing, drinking his first bottle down in one go, while Seungkwan drunk it more slowly, taking sips here and there. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Basketball is hard,” Seungkwan said, causing Vernon to start laughing. “What?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Don’t worry, I’m not laughing at you.” Vernon crushed the water bottle in his hand, chucking it at a nearby trash can, making the hit. “Just thinking of playing basketball in gym class. It gets really intense sometimes.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan, taking his last sip of his own water, stared at the empty bottle in hands before chucking it as well, missing the trash can by more than five feet. “Dammit!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He got up from the bench and picked up the water bottle from the ground, throwing it away in the trash properly this time when he noticed Vernon staring at him. “I know, I suck.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Vernon shrugged. “Better than me at biology.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You do </span>
  </em>
  <span>not </span>
  <em>
    <span>suck at biology,” Seungkwan said while Vernon stood up from the bench, his basketball in his hands. “I’m sure you’ll do fine.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Nah,” Vernon said, shaking his head. “Do you want to go to my house and eat? I think dinner will be ready soon.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan nodded, grabbing his beloved bag on the bench and putting it on. He felt a bit icky, since he was covered in sweat, so he’ll have to clean it later. “Yeah, we can go.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Sweet.” Vernon threw the ball high up into the sky, catching it when it came down. “It’s not that far from here.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>To get to Vernon’s house, they had to leave the park and go past the pond, where they would turn onto his street. He wasn’t lying when he said it wasn’t that far from here; it was like a ten minute walk, tops. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan looked around, grinning at all the trees around them, while Vernon just dribbled his basketball every now and then, already familiar with the route. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>At one point, around the pond, Seungkwan staring shouting, running to the edge of the pond. “Vernon, look, look, I swear I saw something!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Good be geese trying to kill you,” Vernon said, only to be taken aback when he saw Seungkwan running. “Uh, Kwan, you might not want to get to close-”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan dropped his bag on the gross as he inched closer, getting on his knees. His white capris and shoes were getting dirty, but that was the last thing on his mind as he cupped something on the ground, murmuring to it. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Once Vernon got closer, he realized that Seungkwan had actually managed to capture a frog in his hands, a big grin on his face. “It’s so cute, I love it,” he said quietly, stretching his arms out to Vernon. “Look.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Vernon stepped closer, scared the thing was going to jump off and land on him. “How- how did you do that?” he asked, stumped. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seungkwan shrugged. “I don’t know, I just thought it was cute,” he said, directing his attention back to the frog. “It’s so cute.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Thinking this was never going to happen again, Vernon took out his phone from his back pocket and snap a photo of Seungkwan holding the frog, his first photo of the latter. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>***</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At Minghao’s house, they were in Minghao’s room, where he was doing homework with Seungkwan on his bed, rambling about who knows what about psychology.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Junhui was playing Minghao’s old wii with Vernon, currently defeating him in Mario Kart. “Yo, we should do something Saturday,” he said, winning first place.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dude! Again?!” Vernon yelled, slamming his controller down in frustration. “Why?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry man, you’re just mad that I’m flexing,” Junhui said, pointing to Minghao who thankfully wasn’t looking. “Leave me alone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We should do something, but I don’t know,” Minghao said, not looking up from his notebook. He was writing some terms in his notebook, Seungkwan doing the same but with a different section. “Why not at your house, you have a pool.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Junhui shrugged, already clicking on a new map for him and Vernon to start. “Yeah, sure, we can do a pool party, just us four, god knows when it’ll get cold soon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah, Seungkwan, you should come,” Minghao said, looking at the latter. “He has a pool, we can swim, order pizza, etc.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungkwan tugged his sleeves from his pajama shirt down. “I don’t know how to swim,” he whispered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bro, it’s fine, there’s a shallow end and a deep end,” Junhui said, pressing start. “Or just eat pizza, that’s the fun part.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vernon frowned. Since when couldn’t Seungkwan swim? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At the mansion where Seungkwan lived, his parents owned an olympic-sized pool, where Vernon got to swim a couple of times with him when they were dating. Seungkwan could go to the deepest end, swim towards the bottom and come back up easily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why would he lie about that? Was he also uncomfortable with hanging out with Vernon too much?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you three don’t mind,” Seungkwan whispered again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minghao shrugged. “I don’t,” he said. “Vernon, you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh? No, no, I don’t mind,” Vernon replied, turning his attention back towards the television. “We can hang out Saturday, I guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>certain scenes of this book came to me one night when i was dreaming, which is where i got inspiration for this book, so I have a lot of it planned out. I hope you guys enjoy reading it, I know its a bit emotional but i really do like this story and im glad its coming to life.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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